Tennessee
by Emily Hoyt
Summary: Words hurt... even if it is a centuries-old expression that we use without even thinking about it.


Chloe blew through Lux, ignoring the curious glances from the crowd as she scanned through the throngs of people. She didn't really expect to find him down here, anyway.

Earlier, a bunch of officers stood at the top of the stairs, looking through the window at the torrential rain storm, despite the sun the shone brightly above. Chloe and Lucifer had been returning from an interview with a suspect and had passed them on the way in. She was at the bottom of the stairs before she realized he was no longer by her side. She looked up to see him, frozen, five steps higher, staring at the crowd in silence.

"Lucifer?" she called out to him. When he turned to look at her, her heart stuck in her throat at the heart-broken expression on his beautiful face. Without another word, he'd turned away from her and fled back up the stairs and out of the precinct. She tried to go after him, but Dan chose that very moment to appear and tell her about a lead in their case.

Now, with her work day done and Maze watching Trixie, she had only one objective: find Lucifer.

When the doors slid open on his penthouse, she didn't know what she expected to find, but the sight of him standing out on his balcony in the middle of the driving rain was certainly not it. She dropped her purse and jacket on a stool at the bar before making her way through to stand at the patio windows.

"Lucifer?" He spun around and stared at her with wide eyes before looking around in confusion. He seemed to be noticing only now that it was raining. Glancing down at his suit for a moment, he shook his head then looked back up at her.

"Chloe," he whispered and came closer to her. Suddenly, he sank to his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her stomach. He was soaking her clothes, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around his head and played with the short strands of wet hair at the nape of his neck.

"Lucifer, babe, what's wrong?" she asked and his eyes shot up to meet hers.

"You know I'd never hurt you, right?" he gasped out sharply, giving her waist a tight squeeze. Her brain struggled to follow his seemingly random question, but failed.

"What?" she blurted, her face scrunching in confusion.

"I'd never hurt you... hit you?" He added the last part so softly that she almost didn't hear him. Almost, but not quite. She stared down at him, horrified that he even felt a need to ask.

"Of course you wouldn't!" she half shouted. "Lucifer, what happened?" she asked, running her fingers through his damp hair as it began to curl. He chuckled and released her, standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets. Or trying to, anyway. He struggled to find them under the wet layers of his jacket and Chloe laughed. He looked at her with a wide grin.

"Are you laughing at me?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief. He reached for her hand and, despite her attempt to dodge him, managed to get a hold of her wrist in the end. She laughed and struggled half-heartedly against him as he pulled her into his arms and dragged her out into the rain with him. Once he had her flush against his body and she had his undivided attention, she tried again.

"What happened at the precinct, Lucifer?" He sighed.

"I heard an old expression. And... although it never bothered me before..." he trailed off, but she tilted her head and stared him down until he finally caved. "When you have a heavy rainstorm fall from a sunny sky, people say... 'the Devil is beating his wife'."

Chloe's eyes softened and she smiled up at him. She recognized the expression, had heard it often in her youth from her grand-parents, but hadn't thought of it much recently. In fact, she had even learned there were several variants of the same expression, but none of that mattered right now.

"Lucifer," she mumbled, taking his hand in hers, rubbing her thumb back and forth over the silver band on his left ring finger. She smiled up at him, her love for him shining in her eyes. "I know you'd never lift a finger to me," she whispered, giving his hand a squeeze and bringing it up to her lips to kiss his wedding band, a twin to the smaller one on her own left ring finger. The tender smile that she loved so much tilted up the corners of his mouth.

"Good." With that, he slipped his hand out of hers, cupped her face between them and kissed her, ever so gently. His tenderness warmed her heart and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer. She nipped at his lower lip and his responding hum brought a smile to her lips.

"I love you, Lucifer Morningstar," she murmured against his mouth. With one final peck, he lifted away from her and rested his forehead against hers.

"And I love you, Chloe Morningstar," he said softly. She snuggled into her and chuckled to herself.

"Maybe we should move to Tennessee," she said and Lucifer stared down at her, puzzled. "Well..." she said, smiling coyly. "Down there, the expression is a little different. They say that... the Devil is _kissing_ his wife," she explained and his eyes flashed as he took her chin between his thumb and index.

"Tennessee, here we come..."


End file.
